The Trump administration is preparing to send dozens of additional aerial refueling tankers to Israel as it weighs a possible expansion of the war against Iran, Axios reported, citing three Israeli and US sources.
According to the report, US President Donald Trump is considering several options, including strikes on Iranian infrastructure, further attacks on the country's nuclear facilities intended to bury its stockpiles of enriched uranium, and an attack on the underground site at Pickaxe Mountain, which is suspected of being linked to Iran's nuclear program.
The report comes amid an escalation in US attacks on Iranian targets in recent days in response to Iranian strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which violated a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran.
The presence of US refueling tankers at Ben Gurion International Airport has caused tensions in Israel in recent days. Transportation Minister Miri Regev ordered 13 US tankers parked at the airport to be relocated to prevent disruptions to civilian flights carrying Israeli passengers.
The decision was intended to limit the number of tankers allowed to remain at the airport to 20, enabling civilian flights to operate normally during the peak August travel season.
Senior officials at US Central Command objected to the decision, arguing that it undermined the US military's operational requirements in a war in which Israel has a clear strategic interest.
Trump said earlier this week that unless Iran announced that it was reopening the Strait of Hormuz and returning to negotiations, the United States would attack bridges and power plants in the country. As part pf these attacks, a communications tower that formed part of Iran's surveillance network over the Gulf of Oman was struck overnight.
